Qualcomm Is Salty About Switching To Pixel's Tensor But It Really Shouldn't

Qualcomm Is Salty About Switching To Pixel's Tensor But It Really Shouldn't

The Google Pixel 6 phone will eschew Snapdragon chips for the in-house design, and Qualcomm is clearly feeling a little hurt about it. Qualcomm can't help but throw some shade at Google — in the form of a red flag meme on Twitter (via 9to5Google). In August, Google revealed its Tensor chip, which would make its proper debut at the Pixel 6 event on Tuesday. It marks the end of an era where Pixel phones - and much of Google's previous Nexus line - relied on Snapdragon SoCs.

Red Flag meme dating began as a way to identify silly "warning signs," but has since evolved to the point where it can apply to almost anything. Qualcomm made this questionable move on the meme, which means that Google's choice to swap out the Snapdragon for the Tensor was a poor decision.

But the reality is that most Pixel users see Tensors as something exciting to bring to the device. When we got a glimpse of the Pixel 6, Google showed off the benefits of a chip designed to make AI and machine learning processes more efficient. During the demo, we saw how the Pixel 6 can fix blurry photos, shoot better video, and accurately transcribe speech to text — the all-new Tensor chip features Google credit.

Twitter users posted sharp replies to Qualcomm's tweets saying that, thanks to Tensor, Pixel users will no longer face limited support periods for Qualcomm chipsets. A recent leak suggests that the Pixel 6 series will receive five years of Android security updates, which should help extend the life of the phone.

Couple that with the fact that, as 9to5Google points out, Google is one of Qualcomm's smaller customers, and Qualcomm's tweet becomes laughable. Qualcomm still provides chips for some of the biggest smartphone makers, including Samsung, which sold 17 percent of all smartphones globally in the second quarter of 2021.